November 25, 2008

Yes, I remember Limbaugh, Hannity and Ingraham CLAMORING for John McCain.

How can the Republican Party rebound? The first step would be to quit letting Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham set its agenda.

…

In recent years, Republicans have let right-wing talk-show hosts whip the GOP base into frenzies – over immigration, brain-damage victim Terri Schiavo and same-sex marriage – that have branded the party as troglodyte.

Because the obvious way for the party to succeed is to piss off conservatives in the base and ignore issues where most Americans agree with conservatives.
In fact, he wants keep importing immigrants who will vote against even the most pro-illegal Republicans by a margin of 2-1.
Kondracke wants to turn the whole US into NY or Mass.
Mort Kondracke is not just a liberal with ill intent, he has an axe to grind. His wife has a degenerative disease (MS?) and he has a near theological belief that fetal stem cells will help her. That adult stem cells have a better track record, and do not involve immunosupresive therapy m and are less likely to cause cancer is irrelevent. He wants dead feti harvested and demands that all taxpayers pay for it.

Oh yeah, moving to the left has been such a good strategy for the Republicans. Too much more of this and the party will go the way of the Whigs.

Posted by: Eric at November 25, 2008 at 6:19 pm

I heard one commentator suggest that the talk-radio hosts had created a bubble of unreality where the reps are doing everything so well that a rep government was a sure thing at election time. I suppose that if these guys had criticised their ’side’, then the shift towards greater conservatism (which most people here seem to support) may have happened naturally.
Another documentary I saw was about evangelicals in the USA. The Obama camp have worked hard to recruit here, and there seem to be those in the evangelicals who felt let down by W’s second term promises, and want government to follow the teachings of Christ more than just by focussing on abortion and homosexuality. Helping the sick and poor and the ’stewardship of the Earth’ were mentioned. One Pastor (who preaches this type of conservationism) commented that for every person who has walked out of his church, five more have walked in, and they are usually younger voters.
It may well have been the right-leaning evangelicals who, in wanting to follow Christ’s teachings more closely, have caused a left shift.
I found it fascinating.

Posted by: bryan at November 25, 2008 at 7:37 pm

“Yes, I Remember Limbaugh, Hannity And Ingraham CLAMORING For John McCain.”

Mort Kondracke says the Republican Party can be as popular as he is if they’ll simply stop listening to those darn conservatives, How can the Republican Party rebound? The first step would be to quit letting Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity…

The GOP’s problem was, and remains, that it didn’t stand for its principles when it had (arguably) all three branches of government.
Now one can play the blame game for that all day long, but the simple fact of the matter is that it could be argued the far right stayed home this time–and how’d that work out for McCain?
Maybe in ‘12 the GOP might want to find a candidate that has demonstrated a willingness to stick to their scruples rather than one with a familiar last name. In retrospect, the saying “past is prologue” definitely has applied to one George W. Bush, and I’m afraid that broad brush adherence to abortion and anti-homosexuality was used to cover up someone who is fundamentally a liberal lite.
Or, yeah, the GOP could continue on a path that marginalizes the Red States while attempting to capture that squishy center and Hispanic vote. That should end very well.

Posted by: James at November 26, 2008 at 8:39 am

Yes, James, I didn’t mention that the McCain camp in this documentary hadn’t really done much with the fundies. Added to that he doesn’t talk much about religion (and Obama did).
What you said though seems fair to me.
Off topic, yet another lot of failing businesses are being propped up. Shouldn’t poor performers be canned? Surely they can’t all be too big to fall?

Posted by: bryan at November 26, 2008 at 10:56 am

As a rule, I take the advice of my competitors with a grain of salt.
WTF, Bryan starting to sound like a conservative?

Posted by: Casca at November 26, 2008 at 2:57 pm

Casca, I am conservative about using my money to feed inept CEOs. W seems to unconcerned now he’s on his way out about this matter, no?
If you’re company does well, good for everyone, but don’t come to me in a private jet to plead poverty.

Posted by: bryan at November 27, 2008 at 2:59 pm

Who do you vote for if you think that both unwanted immigrants and unwanted unborn children should be treated like human beings?
For that matter, which party faction should you support?

Joseph, the fundies in the docu I mentioned were saying that people should be looked out for after they’re born as well, which was a fair point. Being pro-choice doesn’t mean you’re pro-abortion, unless you offer no sex ed or contraception.

BTW, would “looked out for after they’re born” provide an incentive for voters to support immigration restrictions and legalized abortion? Maybe 19th-century economics, 19th-century abortion laws, and 19th-century open borders go together.

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